Biopolymer elasticity

Abstract

In recent years molecular elasticity has emerged as an active area of research: there are experiments that probe mechanical properties of single biomolecules such as DNA and Actin, with a view to understanding the role of elasticity of these polymers in biological processes such as transcription and protein-induced DNA bending. Single molecule elasticity has thus emerged as an area where there is a rich cross-fertilisation of ideas between biologists, chemists and theoretical physicists. In this article we present a perspective on this field of research.